The Catrina Hotel

The location near the center of San Mateo is great, and the price is far cheaper than other options in the area. That’s why I’ve stayed at the Catrina three times, even though most decent alternatives are closer to SFO airport. I kept hoping the place would improve, but it hasn’t. I’ll look elsewhere next time because I don’t want to put up with these problems anymore. It feels like a motel, not a hotel, and you get what you pay for. The walls are so thin you can hear private conversations next door. It can take 15-20 minutes to get hot water in the shower. Towels and floors were dirty, and homeless people used the lobby bathroom while the front desk was often unattended.

Henry, the virtual front desk assistant, made me feel welcome and comfortable, and check-in was easy. I was able to leave my luggage before check-in. The housekeepers always smiled and greeted me around the property. I highly recommend this hotel.

The room was small, dark and unclean. The TV, coffee maker and electrical outlets didn’t work, and the coffee maker was dirty inside. There was nobody available to deal with problems or complaints from 8 pm until 10 am. This felt more like a roadside inn than a proper hotel. For a similar price, there are better, actual hotels about four miles farther north toward the airport. The one good thing was that the manager was a good guy and agreed to cancel and refund one night of our planned two-night stay.

The rooms are great and affordable, but the tech setup wasn’t worth the hassle. They replaced the front desk with a strange machine that connects you by webcam to someone overseas. Check-in took 30 minutes, they couldn’t work out how to issue me a key card, and the next day they couldn’t figure out the WiFi password.